Millionaire’s Shortbread

I’ve been hearing about millionaire shortbread for years – a layer of shortbread crust topped with chewy caramel and chocolate ganache. I made a version of it a couple of years ago with chocolate chip cookie dough (Billionaire’s Shortbread!), but up until now hadn’t made the real deal. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it’s actually very similar to the Twix tart that I made a few months ago – tastes just like the candy bar! If you like Twix, you’ll love these bars!

Usually a dessert that involves multiple components will throw off a little red flag to most folks as too complicated or time-consuming. I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively easy and quick these bars were to make. From start to finish, they only took a little over an hour, which is awesome when you’re assembling three layers!

So, to recap: shortbread, caramel and chocolate. Easy and not time-consuming. This is definitely a recipe worthy of a spot in your “tried and true” recipe box!

For the Ganache Topping:

Directions:

Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, allowing at least an inch overhang on all sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar remaining. Add the butter and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or two knives until a coarse meal forms. Add the ice water and egg yolk and blend with a fork until moist clumps form. Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Make the Caramel: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, golden syrup and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and boil, whisking constantly, until the caramel is thick and the temperature registers 225 degrees F, about 6 minutes. Quickly whisk in the vanilla extract and pour the caramel over the prepared crust; cool for about 15 minutes, or until the caramel is set.

For Chocolate Ganache: Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals on 50% power, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Spread the chocolate over the caramel layer. Refrigerate the bars until the chocolate is set, at least 1 hour.

Lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve. Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

52 comments on “Millionaire’s Shortbread”

Comment navigation

This is a bit of a random question…the recipe calls for 1-14oz can of sweetened condensed milk, do you know what the volume equivalent is to that in cups? In Canada our cans come in 300mL and I’m worried that I may end up adding too much milk if I go by measuring ounces. Any help is great!

We have these all over the place in New Zealand, they are called Caramel Slices here, and you’d be hard pressed to find a bakery which doesn’t sell them! Absolute Kiwi staple for the truckies lunch stop.

These look amazing. My daughter adores Twix, but we too don’t have much candy at out household, pretty much just holidays. She’s going through a bit of a rough time and I would like to surprise her with either this or the Twix tart. Which do you think comes closest to Twix? I can only imagine how much she would love either. Homemade caramel, and a better cookie than the Twix… Now I want this and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth!

My mom taught me how to make millionaire’s shortbread when I was only a little girl and they have been a family recipe ever since. We love love them! I have an anglo-saxon upbringing so maybe that’s why I’ve known them all these years.

I really want to try them with a salted caramel middle but have yet to get to it!

I was just about to write the same thing Annie! When I was a little girl, I loved typing my mom’s recipes on a typewriter and putting the sheets into a notebook. My mom still has the recipe I typed probably 25 years ago in one of her cookbooks, and that’s still the sheet she uses to this day to make these. We grew up calling them Mars Bars. I’m originally from Canada, so, I think they were an ode to a candy bar up there. Either way, these were always my favorite, and my family loved them straight out of the freezer. I’ve also made these and instead of putting the ganache on top, I’ll freeze the pan of just the shortbread and caramel, cut them into squares, and then dip them in chocolate to mimic a Twix bar. My family says “not the same as mom’s”, but I love them that way!

haha, sounds similar :D I’m actually French with an Irish mother so we got all the yummy british baked goods on top of all the good french cooking ;) I’ve never thought of freezing them, do they freeze well? I should probably try as now I want to make a batch but as I live alone there’s a chance of all of them disappearing!

Yes! They do freeze well! Helps when you want to store the rest of the dessert away and not get into eating the whole thing at once, and also for pulling out on a whim when guests are over. Yes, Canadian heritage is usually heavily French and English influenced, so, it totally makes sense. Perhaps my family likes them frozen because they’re Canadian? You know, just stereotypical Canadian jokes :-)